University of Tehran Published jointly with Iranian World Studies Association Journal of World Sociopolitical Studies 2588-3119 10 2 2026 04 01 Recognizing the Antecedents of the Iraqi Council of Ministers' Cultural Diplomacy 487 519 106271 10.22059/wsps.2026.403571.1557 EN Eyam Abd Sarhan Sarhan PhD Student, Department of Public Administration, Isf.C., Islamic Azad University, Isfahan, Iran Saeid Sharifi Associate Professor, Department of Cultural Management and Planning, Isf.C., Islamic Azad University, Isfahan, Iran Sahar Faeghi Assistant Professor, Department of Cultural Management and Planning, Isf.C., Islamic Azad University, Isfahan, Iran Ali Hameed Handi Al Ali Assistant Professor, College of Management and Economics, University of Kufa, Kufa, Iraq Journal Article 2025 10 28 This study aims to identify the antecedents, preconditions, and enabling factors required for the Iraqi Council of Ministers to formulate and implement an effective cultural diplomacy strategy. The research methodology was based on an inductive approach, using thematic analysis technique outlined by Braun and Clarke (2006). Data were gathered from semi-structured interviews with 12 experts in cultural diplomacy and analyzed using MAXQDA software. Validity was established through a two-step process member checking and an external audit. This research showed that Iraqi government organizations can implement cultural diplomacy strategies in Iraq more optimally through the identified components in the organizational, national, and international dimensions, and in the framework of the cultural diplomatic antecedents of the Iraqi Council of Ministers. This paper provides an important framework for analyzing cultural diplomacy antecedents in cultural heritage, paying particular attention to regional dimension for strengthening internal cohesion that moves beyond a siloed approach by explicitly integrating national, organizational, and international factors into a single, actionable model, offering a structured roadmap for Iraqi policymakers to translate latent cultural power into tangible diplomatic influence. https://wsps.ut.ac.ir/article_106271_f251dabe91914ae07f5cc32c82513af9.pdf